


The Place Where We Began

by Judayre



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Desert Planet, Other, Space AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 00:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8946229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judayre/pseuds/Judayre
Summary: Dwalin and Nori crash on a planet when they're going on a honeymoon.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blue_Sparkle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Sparkle/gifts).



> Secret Santa for Blue_Sparkle. Happy Chanukah!

Nori woke to sounds around them. It was rare that Dwalin woke first, but so late into a pregnancy Dwarves slept a lot and Nori was no different. It wasn’t until they moved and it hurt that they remembered the trip. Even so close to delivery, Nori and Dwalin had decided to take a short trip to celebrate their marriage. The plasma storm had come up quickly and without warning, and they had lost all control of their ship.

Nori moaned softly, and Dwalin was instantly at their side. One of his big hands splayed protectively over the baby - the baby who was wriggling to make its displeasure known and was thus safe, to Nori’s intense relief - and the other caressed Nori’s cheek.

“Sensors and engines are dead,” Dwalin said in his comforting bass rumble. “I’ve no idea how far off course we are, and no one’ll even think to start looking for us for at least a week anyway. I sent out a distress signal, but I don’t know if the communication system is working better than anything else.”

Nori nodded and let Dwalin pull them into a sitting position. They leaned against the wall while Dwalin checked for bruises (many) and breaks (thankfully none), and then forced themself to their feet to get the handheld scanners. That wouldn’t tell them where they were, but it would tell them if they could go out and look for help or to scavenge something to fix the ship with. Dwalin hovered nearby, a steady presence that Nori no longer hesitated to lean on. Dwalin’s strength was something they would need here. So near birth, there was much they couldn’t do on their own and having someone they trusted there was comforting in a way that they wouldn’t have believed two years ago when they met.

“This isn’t strong enough to pick up anything far off, but we can go exploring,” they said after a few minutes, turning their face into Dwalin’s neck.

Dwalin squeezed gently, making Nori whimper with pain again. “Maybe you should stay here while I go,” he said, nuzzling against him worriedly. “We don’t know what’s out there.”

“No we don’t,” Nori agreed. “And that’s why you’re not going alone.”

To his credit, Dwalin didn’t try to argue with Nori once he saw they had made up their mind. It was a long won trust that Nori cherished. He just nodded and cleared the debris to make a safe path to the door. Nori joined him, and it was only when they were together that Dwalin forced the door to open.

Nori took a deep breath of the air - clean and cold - and was hit by the music of the planet as if it were a sledgehammer. They actually stumbled a step off the ship before turning to stare wide-eyed at Dwalin. His expression was just as raw. What they heard was dissonant and broken - surely a planet that had been raped of its raw materials by someone who didn’t care. But under the dissonance they could still hear something of the original song.

A song they only heard at the solemnest ceremonies.

They had found Gundabad.

The pair looked around again with a new sense of wonder. Gundabad! One of the original homes of the Dwarves that had been lost ages and ages ago. The Orcs had stolen it and the millennia of wars had destroyed their original star maps. Over time, they had lost track of where their original homes had been, and they had looked for them ever since.

And here they were! Seeing the sun rise on Gundabad, tasting its air, hearing its song. Nori moved forward to be in the middle of a wide field without conscious thought. They wanted to take in everything about Gundabad, even its new dissonance.

Dwalin was there as well and they laughed to each other. But Nori could see a light of suspicion in Dwalin’s eyes, and it made them pause.

“Orcs,” Dwalin said shortly, eyes turning to scan the horizon. And that was true. Shouldn’t the Orcs have known they crashed and come to kill them? There was no time to lose in wonder and history. That had never gotten anyone anywhere.

Nori picked a direction and began walking. Eventually there would be a road, a city, and answers. “Eventually” ended up taking three hours, and the continued lack of life other than Dwalin had Nori on edge. They kept thinking they heard something, but it was just the crunch of Dwalin’s boots on the rocky slope. 

It was worst the one time he paused and then started walking again. Nori had so much attention on the scanner that they hadn’t noticed the pause until the crunch started again. They whirled, hand going for a knife that was hard to reach under their pregnant belly. Dwalin raised his hands to show that he wasn’t a threat, and Nori’s eyes were caught by a sparkle in his hands. They took the stone, turning it in their hands so that different facets caught the light, and then tucked it into their bag. They didn’t miss the flash of annoyance that crossed Dwalin’s face as they started walking again.

Their path eventually ended at a cliff. They could see a city and a mountain range only a few kilometers away. Both were abandoned. It was clear from the way the city was quiet and overgrown, and even from a distance it was obvious that the entry to the mountain was caved in. It was a relief, and Nori felt released from tension they had barely been aware of. In the wake of it, all they wanted to do was lie down and nap. Three hours of walking so near the end of pregnancy was a drain.

They sank gratefully to the ground and lay back, trying to ignore the dissonance of the song and just feel the wonder of being on Gundabad. The sun was high in the sky and there was plenty of time for both a nap and the trip to the city in the distance. With any luck, they’d be able to find abandoned parts and fix the ship up so they could leave. With even more luck, there would be food. They looked up to express all of it to Dwalin, but the other Dwarf had already begun to pick his way down the cliff.

Nori scrambled to follow. Just because the planet seemed abandoned didn’t mean they wanted to be left alone on it. But they hadn’t had any real rest in far too long, and they nearly fell multiple times before reaching the bottom. Dwalin saved them every time, but both of them were frustrated about it and scowling at each other as they continued walking. Nori deliberately went slowly, angry and Dwalin, angry at the plasma storm, angry at the Orcs, angry at everything but their child.

Finally, they made it to the city, but just like everything else it seemed they couldn't agree in what to do once there. Nori wanted nothing more than to find a defensible corner and all of the blankets that might still exist and nest. Dwalin wanted to search for food, for tools, for communications arrays. Nori left him to it and found themself a moss covered corner out of the wind. Finally, FINALLY, they were able to rest.

Although it wasn't an easy rest. It was harder to ignore the dissonance in the world’s song in the city and that followed into their dreams. They were unfocused dreams - they were running through unfamiliar hallways with footsteps chasing them, they were shining gems that seemed to shoot lasers, they were caught in rockslides with no way out. There was someone watching them and no one could be trusted. They were alone, and when they weren't they were in danger.

Nori woke feeling more tired than he had before. It was dark, but a light shone from their pack. The stone Dwalin had found earlier in the day was glowing bright enough to see with, and it bathed Nori in a calming light that seemed to dim the dissonance of the world’s song.

Dwalin wasn’t to be seen, and wasn’t that typical? They stayed while it was fun and then ran when needed. Nori scowled and rested a hand over their belly, silently reassuring their child that only having one parent was fine. They roamed the city, head back to see the way the stars looked from Gundabad and to take in the look of the old ruined buildings against the night sky.

Dawn was lighting the sky again when Nori made it to the other edge of the city. They looked up at the mountains in wonder. This was a place where Dwarves had first lived. If there was still a way inside, what wonders might be found? Without thought, their feet found a path up to the ruins of the gate. They were out of breath by the time they reached the gate, but turning back had never occurred to them.

Dwalin was already there, a pile of tools strewn around his feet on the level ground of the entry. There were boulders piled in what would have been a large opening, a few on the continuing path. It was neat, as though it had been done on purpose. Nori entertained a momentary fantasy of Dwarves living inside the mountains for millennia after blocking out the Orcs.

“Just think what might be in there,” they said dreamily.

Dwalin snorted. “Once a thief, always a thief,” he muttered.

Something in Nori tightened with anger. “And what are you doing here?”

“I’ve been looking for supplies. You disappeared as soon as we reached the city.”

“I went to find somewhere to sleep so I could take care of our child.”

“Your child,” Dwalin muttered. “Never given me proof that it’s mine.”

And that. That was too far. The anger that had started condensed down into a bright coal. The stone glowed hot and the ground started to shake. There was a rattling crash and Nori looked up to see what looked like the whole mountain coming down on them.

And then they were pushed aside and down and Dwalin’s strong body was braced over them, protecting them and the child. Nori reached shakily to touch him, wondering at the anger and suspicion that they had both shown just moments before. Now, with the rocks coming down, there was only love between them. Nori could see it in Dwalin’s dark eyes.

When it was over, they helped each other to sit, clinging to one another like children. There were parts of the path that weren't there anymore, others that were covered with boulders. It would be hard, maybe impossible to go back down that way.

But the cave mouth was clear. Familiar, Dwarven darkness looked at them from the wide mouth of the gate. Cool air blew out from the interior, promising safety. And Gundabad’s song was a little clearer.

It was more than a week until the Üski found them. They were shuttled up to the ship, and the closing doors that cut off the slowly healing song was painful.

Thorin met them when they arrived and blessed the baby, looking happier than Nori had seen before. “What name did you choose?” he asked.

“Gundlin,” Nori answered. 

Thorin cocked a brow and Dwalin explained. “The first child born on Gundabad since it was lost.”


End file.
